10/02/2023    Richard Rettig, DPM

Podiatry: The Sky is Not Falling

I have read many posts on PM News discussing
podiatrists abandoning routine foot care. I wonder
if there is any truth to this. Many years ago, CMS
set up a webpage that I believe still exists,
where you can look up the exact Medicare billing
codes used and their frequency by any podiatrist
in the country (and any medical doctor also, for
that matter). This was discussed at that time on
PM News, and the point was that despite all our
advances in surgery, the majority of podiatrists
make the majority of their income from routine
care codes Has that actually changed, or are we
just discussing rumors?

I have read many posts on this page discussing
forming a union and acting jointly to change
reimbursements. Actually, podiatrists in many
states already belong to a union through their
state podiatry association, OPIEU, and have for
many years. The ability to act jointly is not
something that just somehow didn't occur to the
union nor anybody else for that matter. The
Sherman Antitrust Act might have been passed in
1890, but it still is settled law.

I have read many posts on this page discussing how
podiatrists are reimbursed less than MD orthopods
for the same procedure codes. Is there any truth
to that? I know that is false for Medicare, as all
their fee schedules are published, and there are
no differential rows or columns for podiatrists
and orthopods. There are many DPMs that are
employed by orthopedic practices, and not once on
these pages have I ever seen one of those DPMs
publish a specific procedure code, with a paid fee
for each, and name the insurance company. Is this
another false rumor? If not, is it widespread?

I am reading posts on this page discussing foot
care nurses. I saw similar letters 10 years ago
here. This isn't new, just new to the podiatrist
in the community that this happened in. Just a few
days ago, I saw a post concerning a Good Feet
store opening up. This has been ongoing for two
decades or so.

And now I see a post questioning the availability
of positions for graduating podiatry residents. If
anything, there are not enough podiatrists
graduating to replace those who are retiring.

The sky is not falling. Like many here, I did
think the sky was falling; that was 43 years ago,
and guess what? It didn't.

Richard Rettig, DPM, Philadelphia, PA

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